Open Source LIMS in Namibian and Zimbabwean Health Care Laboratories

Illustrated by many donor and government initiatives under way in our region, health care is receiving well deserved attention. Electronic Medical Records (EMR) and Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) are important tools for timely and preventative care to protect and improve public health.

There are many opportunities for Web based LIMS and instrument integration, bringing about vast gains in turnaround times and accuracy, for all labs big and small, anywhere. Bika Health achieve this as robust and affordable world leading Open Source LIMS. It is based on ISO 17025 compliant Bika LIMS* for chemistry and micro biology, and adds CLIA conformant health care features. Patients, Doctors, Clinical Cases, Epidemiology, standardised Pathology Request Forms, and Interfaces with clinical instruments and EMR, hospital and accounts systems.

It is also used in veterinary settings with animal subjects and veterinarians in these roles, and forms the basis for Bika applications in bio-informatics and biobanks.

* Bika LIMS, without the additional health features, is used in agriculture, food and beverages, water quality management, geological and many more disciplines. Apart from with lab instruments, it is often interfaced with ERP and accounts packages.